Why did my ball python die?

Question

we got her at a pet store. all the balls they had were kinda sick and had a strange cut on the underside of their tale. well i got one anyway and she wouldnt eat and was very dehydrated. she also kept rubbing her head weird even though she had already shed and had no mites. she got a little more hydrated and we thought she maybe wasnt hungry, but she was so skinny and was so weak. we got home today and she was in the water dead with her mouth open. we called the store and we are gonna get a new healthier one, but at the store they said one of the others that sold died throwing up, another died in the store, and at least 2 or 3 more look like they are gonna die. what do you think killed my snake? we had her only 2 days.

Answer 1

hats your problem, you bought one from a pet store. i dont want to rag on pet stores but they dont know how to care for their reptiles. there is really no such thing as a "healthy" snake at a pet store. i really would suggest getting one from a private breeder or something.

and i am so sorry about your snake.

Answer 2

They were probably wield cought specimens. Whatever's wrong with them might be caused by stress. Its best for all involved  to buy captive bred animals.

Answer 3

This is why you don't buy animals from a pet store. They were selling imported snakes that had just been shipped from Africa. They were malnourished, hydrated, and stressed. They may have also had parasites. This is why you can buy imported ball pythons for ten bucks. Find a breeder and buy a captive bred one. And the "cut" you saw wasn't a cut at all. It's where they were attached to the yolk sack in the egg, which indicates they had just hatched. The pet store probably didn't even take the time to get them feeding before trying to sell them. I'm not a big fan of imported ball pythons (also known as captive hatched).

Answer 4

They're probably wild caught imports..Most importers count on making their money on volume rather then on quality animals that survive. Often they are shipped in a container with tons of other snakes. The importers pay locals small 'bounties' on snakes they catch and bring in, but, they wait till they have a whole bunch before they ship them out. If your snake was one of the first ones caught, it may not have been fed and may have lived in a small box for several months..

Never, ever buy from a store that sells wild caught. Ball Pythons are very easy to breed in captivity and there is no excuse to get a wild caught as a pet. It's one thing if you're a breeder and you need a different bloodline of a rare snake. But, a regular pet owner should never buy wild caught. The pet store buys them for about $10 each from an importer and then sells them for $70. You could order a healthy captive bred one on kingsnake for about the same price, plus shipping, and actually have a healthy snake and NOT contribute to the decimation of the wild population..

In other words, your snake could have a bunch of things wrong with it, most of which stem from stress from being taken from the wild, housed inappropriately for who knows how long, and then being shipped through customs to more people that care more about making higher profits then they do about selling healthy animals..

Answer 5

+2 w0000000000000t

Answer 6

sorry your BP died...however you shouldnt have bought a reptile that looked sick when you bought it.  the "strange cut" may have been a prolapse (if it was at the snakes vent) which if not treated can kill a snake from what i've been told.

Answer 7

The store might not of known how to properly take care of the pythons. if they had more that were going to die thats probably the reason. The cut on your snake could have also been infected. Sorry about the snake. I hope the new one is happy and healthy!

Answer 8

Well, if she was that weak, she might not have been able to control her water control. Once water gets in their lungs, they die. They have no way of coughing. Either that or it was too weak to live any more anyways. I wouldn't buy from that pet store again. If that's the way they treat animals, you're better off choosing somewhere else.